


Falling for You

by brightblackholes



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, M/M, Thief AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6407263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightblackholes/pseuds/brightblackholes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the prompt <i>“You found me hanging by my fingertips from your window and i don’t want to tell you i was trying to rob you but idk how else to explain this and i don’t want to go to jail and also you’re kind of cute we should make out when i’m not clinging onto your window ledge for my life”</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling for You

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my gf for editing

Chris carefully reached up, his hands landing on the drain pipe, causing it to creak. It still seemed stable enough, though, and basically his entire plan hinged on being able to use the drainpipe to give him a boost to the window, so it would have to do. Besides, three stories wasn’t too far to fall. He’d survive at least, although it would probably create a bit of commotion and he wouldn’t be able to continue the job. He’d been looking at this place for weeks, and honestly money was getting a bit tight so he really needed to score something worth selling. Big houses always had something worth selling.

It’s not like Chris stole people’s stuff just for the fun of it. He was trying to survive, okay? Acting is a hard business, and it’s not like he was really qualified for anything else. Drive-through work only earns you so much. He wanted to be able to pay his rent _and_ eat, so one day the brilliant idea of becoming a thief crossed his mind and he decided to be impulsive and try it.

Perhaps there’s a reason his ideas are notorious for being on the top of the Ideas That Should Not Be Followed list.

But hey, he hadn’t been caught yet, and that’s the important thing. Being a thief was surprisingly easy if you were good at rock climbing, walking quietly, and knew how to use the internet to sell stuff without getting caught. It was much easier than he had originally thought it would be, anyway. The prep work of finding a target, a way in, and an ideal time to case it was actually the hardest part for him.

This house had been a relatively easy find. First of all, it was big, and Chris liked big houses because he didn’t feel guilty about stealing from them and there was always stuff to take. Secondly, after watching it for over a week, he only ever saw one person coming in and out, a girl with brown, curly hair, and tonight he had overheard her say that she would be at a friend’s house, leaving this house wide open for him. He’d already disabled the security system (this one was nice and easy, which was great because he’d had to turn back from houses because their security systems were too good before) and now it was just a matter of physically getting into the house, getting some stuff worth selling, and getting out.

Chris clutched the drainpipe harder, counting to himself. When he hit three, he swung from his perch, kicking off of the centimeter ledge he had found in the bricks and using the drainpipe to haul himself up to the window ledge.

Of course, there was a reason he tried not to use drainpipes. This one disconnected from the side of the house with an earsplitting crack, throwing Chris really off balance. He was lucky he already had touching the windowsill before it happened, but he still ended up hanging on by only his fingertips as the pipe fell to the ground with a clatter he was certain woke the whole neighborhood.

A light flicked on in the room he was dangling from.

Chris seriously considered letting go, dropping to the ground, and hobbling away on his probably-broken legs rather than facing the mysterious person who wasn’t supposed to be there. In the second before the window opened and a figure popped his head out, though, he decided he valued his legs more than his impeccable theft record and that he could probably sweet-talk the person into letting him go (no he couldn’t. You can’t try to convince someone that you’re not trying to rob them if you’re hanging from their window dressed in all black and you can’t convince them to let you off completely free if they know you’re trying to rob them).

The window slid opened, but Chris couldn’t take in any details about the person before they were toppling backwards in surprise and letting out a rather loud “ _Argh!_ ” He heard a thump inside and waited for a second in silence before putting his own vocal chords to use.

“Um, hello? Listen, I don’t have a very good grip on your windowsill right now and I would kind of like to not die, so if you could help me up I’d really appreciate it.” After another second of silence had Chris worrying that the mysterious person wasn’t going to show up or that he had hit his head when he fell back and was knocked out and then they’d both be in serious trouble. He didn’t have to worry long, though, because soon enough a head of brown, tousled hair came into his vision, then the most gorgeous pair of eyes he had ever seen in his life (they were _green_ , but they were also a bit blue and they were all kinds of lovely), then-- _oh._

_Oh wow._

Looking down at him was possibly the most beautiful person Chris had ever seen in his entire life. His hair was great, his eyes were amazing, and his lips looked soft and kissable.

Chris wanted to kiss him. Chris was going to kiss him.

Chris was also maybe going to lose his grip on the windowsill and break his legs before being shipped off to prison, but that was a minor detail.

“Who are you?” the mysterious person asked, a slight waver in his voice.

_His voice._ What about this guy wasn’t perfect?

“Hi, my name is Chris. I’m hanging from your window because I was trying to rob you and didn’t know anyone was home. You should help me up so I don’t die and we can make out because you’re really attractive.” At that exact moment, the fingers on his left hand decided to give out. He yelped (it might have been more like a screech) and his life flashed before his eyes until the mysterious person grabbed his arm and started pulling him up. Once he regained enough of his composure, he helped haul himself inside and ended up toppling headfirst onto the boy, which he didn’t mind at all, but which the other boy seemed to quite a bit.

He was just as attractive close up, but Chris forced himself to stand up and offer him a hand instead of staring at him like a creep. He could be creepy sometimes, but he wasn’t a creep.

The other boy hesitantly took his hand (Chris internally yelled like a middle-schooler with a crush) and stood, then quickly backed away a few steps, still looking a bit like a startled deer.

“Thanks for that. Falling would have been very unpleasant,” he said, looking around the room that he hand ended up in. It was small, but cozy. The walls were covered in various posters and pictures, giving it personality. A shelf above a desk housed various items semi-haphazardly and a string of fairy lights, but the desk underneath was organized and clean, clearly displaying the computer sitting on top of it. Cloths were overflowing from the closet onto a caddy, and among a small cd shelf and various other knick-knacks Chris spotted a guitar and ukulele.

“Do you mind if I turn on the light?” Chris asked, gesturing to the lightswitch.

“What?” the boy stammered.

“Watch your eyes,” Chris sang before bathing the room in a bright yellow glow. The boy winced and brought his hand up to his face. Chris did, too.

“Okay, so maybe going for the lamp would have been a better idea, but I wanted to see the room in all its glory. It’s so lively I couldn’t resist.” And maybe he also wanted to see the pajama-clad boy in front of him in all his glory, too.

Yep, just as attractive in normal light as in the dark. It was really unfair. Chris had just met this boy and he was going to be the one to put him in prison.

The boy in question seemed to be getting over his initial shock at the situation and sudden bright lighting and instead made a lunge for the bedside table and the phone sitting on it.

“There’s no need to be so hasty,” Chris said, springing into motion to intercept the boy and swipe the phone up instead. “It’s not like I’m going to try and rob you. Besides, i just had a near-death experience. You could be a bit more sensitive.”

“You actually told me you were here to rob me when you were hanging from the window!” the boy huffed, standing back and glaring now that Chris was in possession of his way to the police.

“Well even if that was true, which I’m not saying it is, why would I rob you _now_? You’re literally standing right there. You’re awake, you know what I look like, and it’s not like you’re just going to stand by while I unplug your computer and sling it over my shoulder. I’m not going to rob you,” Chris scoffed.

“You could always hit me over the head and knock me out,” the boy shot back.

“Okay first off you shouldn’t give strange people in your house ideas like that, and secondly I’m a thief, not a burglar. I don’t hurt people. I don’t even attempt to break in if I know someone is home. Speaking of which, I thought the girl with the curly hair was the only one who lived here and she’s out tonight. I’ve been looking at this house for weeks and I’ve never seen you once. Believe me, I would remember.”

“I’m Sophie’s roommate. I literally just got back from LA this afternoon.”

“When you say roommate, do you mean...boyfriend?” Chris asked, waving his eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m gay,” the boy replied flatly. Chris’s inner middle schooler was jumping up and down and shouting in celebration. For once in his life, the cute boy wasn’t a scary heterosexual.

“Nice.”

Chris turned away to look at the room again, his eyes drawn to an area of wall completely covered by hand-drawn pictures filled in with colored pencil. Some of them looked like they were ripped out of a sketchbook, some on printer paper, some from a spiral notebook. They depicted various things he had never seen before: creatures filled with bright colors or sketches of people in odd clothes. There was a drawing of what looked like a hotel, and another one of a train, another of a backpack that could also be a jetpack, and a box with a music note on it and smoke pouring out of the sides. In the center of this wall of creativity was a picture of a single, tiny planet with a human standing on top of it.

“What’s this?” he asked in wonder, not turning around. There was so much to look at and absorb that he felt like he couldn’t tear his eyes away if he wanted to.

He hadn’t noticed how close the boy had gotten until he spoke from right next to him and made Chris jump.

“This is my idea wall.”

“All of this came from you?” he asked, looking at the boy. He nodded, eyes on the wall. His hair looked really soft.

“Wow,” Chris breathed, turning back to the pieces of paper. “You’re so creative. What do you do with it? Are you an artist, or a writer, or…”

“I make short films, actually. I started on YouTube, but the reason I was in LA was to meet with a producer to make a web series out of one of my ideas.”

“Really?” Chris exclaimed, turning towards him again. “Congratulations! That’s so cool.”

“Thanks,” the boy said, and Chris saw him flush. “I’m really excited about it. I’ve wanted to create videos since I was little and this is my chance to really reach a wider audience and officially get on the grid.” The boy paused and looked at him, turning so he could rest his back against the wall and crossing his arms. “Do you have a job besides breaking and entering? A legal one?”

“You know that really bad fast food place a few blocks from here? I’m usually the person taking orders at the drive through. I love my job, it’s really fantastic. Pays wonderfully, too,” he laughed dryly. “I went to school for acting, but it’s not exactly working out right now, so I picked up theft part-time.”

“I’ve never been to that place,” the boy said.

“Good. Stay away. It’s literally an extension of hell and people keep calling to complain about food poisoning.”

“Okay, then. Don’t expect to see me there anytime soon.”

“That’s fine. You’re going to get me arrested, anyway, so I won’t be seeing anyone except creepy prison people for a bit,” Chris said lightly. Really, he should be heading for the window and running before the police got called, but it was hard to tear himself away now that he had actually started to learn about the boy. His imagination was so vibrant and original. Chris really wanted to stay and know more.

In hindsight, telling the boy where he worked was not a good move, because even if he managed to get away he would still get caught.

“Why did you pick this house to try and rob, anyway?” the boy asked. “What did you think you’d be getting out of it?”

“I almost never specifically know what I’m going to get out of a job. I usually pick big houses because they usually mean money, which means I go home with something that will pay for my groceries and I don’t feel bad taking it. I honestly just like the architecture of this place, and after watching it for a bit and only seeing the girl--Sophie?” The boy nodded. “--come in and out and figured out that the security system was one I could get around I decided to go for it.”

“What would you have taken if I wasn’t here?”

Chris looked around the room again, wandering away a bit.

“Probably the computer. I’d have to see the rest of the house, too, but once inside I exit through a door and can take just about anything. I prefer smaller things and items that don’t look like they’re passed down from someone’s grandma. Things that sell easily but that can also be replaced by the people I took it from.” Chris paused for a moment to make sure he had covered everything before turning back to the boy.

“Well I’m really glad I caught you because I have a lot of files on that computer that I can’t replace,” the boy said, pushing off the wall to stand by his desk.

“You should do something about that. I hear having an extra harddrive around is a good idea. Maybe you should just get an entire new computer and back everything up.” The boy’s face twisted into what could be an attempt to hide a smile, and Chris didn’t know what he did but he wanted to do it again because he _needed_ to see that smile.

“What did you say your name was?” the boy asked, looking at Chris like he was trying to figure out the answer to the question “What’s the meaning of life?”

“If I say mine again, will you tell me yours?” he asked, a bit eagerly than was probably necessary.

“PJ,” the boy--PJ--said.

“Mine’s Chris. Nice to meet you, PJ,” he smiled, about to hold his hand out for the other boy to shake before realizing he was still keeping the phone in it. PJ noticed.

“You can give me back the phone, you know. I’m not going to call the police on you anymore.”

It was a bad idea, but Chris believed him and held the device out.

“I’m almost disappointed. I hear jail is _lit_ ,” Chris intoned, even hanging his head. PJ chuckled and Chris thought it sounded like angels singing. Well, maybe not exactly angels singing, but it was definitely his favorite sound.

“What inspired this change of heart?” he asked. “Was it my charming wit or just my general good looks?”

PJ squinted and tilted his head.

“I wouldn’t say your looks are _that_ good.”

Chris gasped and placed a hand on his chest.

“You wound me. I’m very sexy, I promise. You haven’t even seen me with my clothes off yet, although that could be arranged.”

“Are you always this forward?” PJ asked.

“Only for people who rescue me from hanging off their windowsill and make me fall madly in love with them within 15 minutes of meeting,” Chris replied.

“I changed my mind,” PJ said, shaking his head. “I should have let you fall.”

“But then I would have just fallen _for you_ more.”

PJ laughed, a full out laugh, throwing his head back and complete with his shoulders shaking. Chris loved it.

“That was bad,” the other boy laughed before taking a few breaths to try and compose himself. “This is the most bizarre day of my life, and I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I think you should audition for my web series.”

“Um, what?” Chris asked.

“I think you should audition for my web series,” PJ repeated, completely serious now. “You have the right air around you and I think you’d be good for the role. As long as you can actually act, I’d say you have a good shot at it.”

“Okay just to be clear: I tried to rob you, and you want me to be in your new web series that I don’t actually know anything about?” he asked, eyebrows drawn together.

“I want you to _audition_. There’s no guarantees for the part if you can’t act or someone better comes along, but otherwise you described the situation well.”

Chris couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Not only was he not getting arrested, but the cute boy (who he was now on first-name basis with) wanted to see him again after and possibly work with him. This was too good to be true.

“Great, sure! Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there,” he grinned. PJ smiled back and found a pack of post-it’s to jot something down on before handing the paper to Chris.

“Here’s the date and location, and there’s my number if you have any questions.”

“Ooooo, now who seems a bit forward? After a number usually comes a first date,” Chris said slyly, looking at the other boy with raised eyebrows.

“Show up to the audition and we’ll see what happens,” PJ replied, and if there was any part of Chris that was thinking about skipping it, there wasn’t anymore.

“Flirting with a possible employee, how unprofessional,” he tsk-ed, shaking his head.

“Being a thief and being caught stealing, how unprofessional,” PJ shot right back.

“Touché.”

PJ yawned, and Chris realized that he must still be jet lagged. The boy seemed to suddenly realize it, too. His shoulders drooped and he sent a look to his bed.

“I should leave now, shouldn’t I,” Chris asked. PJ nodded.

“I’ll walk you out,” he yawned again. “Don’t want you pocketing anything while I’m not looking.”

The house turned out to not be as impressive as Chris had originally thought. Considering that he now knew it was inhabited by two starving artists, that made sense. PJ said the only reason they had it was because Sophie had an uncle that left it to her.

They reached the door, and Chris hoped he got to see the inside of the house again soon.

“You didn’t take anything while I was yawning, did you?” PJ asked sleepily. Chris held his hands up in surrender.

“Do you want to search me to make sure?” he suggested. PJ hummed.

“Maybe next time.”

“I look forward to it. Thanks for not having me arrested and not letting me fall to my death,” Chris said.

“It ended up being my pleasure,” PJ replied.

“I could show you real pl--”

“Okay, you’re leaving now,” PJ said, turning him around and pushing him towards the door, but he was laughing so Chris didn’t feel too bad about it.

“I’ll see you later, PJ,” he said once he was outside, turning back to face the tired boy leaning against the doorway.

“See you, Chris.”

Chris’s heart leapt a bit in his chest as he walked to his car, looking at the post-it and the number written in loopy handwriting on it. He hadn’t gotten anything worth selling from this house, but he _had_ gotten the phone number for a very cute boy and a possible job in the career he actually wanted, and all he had to do was almost fall to his death.

Now he just had to figure out if he needed to be hanging out of another window in order to get a date.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
